bright side of the road
by lost in silence x
Summary: "You're human. You only have so many years to smile. You can't pretend. There's no time." Klaus meets a broken Caroline and decides to help her. Klaroline oneshot. Slight AU.


When Klaus stepped onto the observatory of the Empire State Building, the relief he felt was refreshing. He had thought, numerous times throughout the day, that this time would never come. He needed to get away. Away from humans. Away from the miserable eternity that he could not escape. A few weeks ago, he had discovered that the observatory was the perfect place to come and rest his imploding thoughts. He'd look out at the city, the plethora of buildings, and their resilience and sense of strength would alleviate him for the time being.

It was a particularly snowy night in New York City, and the top of the Empire State Building was fairly desolate, with all of the tourists bundling up in their hotel rooms to avoid the frigid night. A family of four were braving the midnight chill, taking pictures of the lighted city, and Klaus could hear the occasional "it's so beautiful" and "Rachel, let me get a picture of you over here."

The family appeared to be the only ones lingering around, until Klaus took a look around and spotted a blond teenager rooted in the corner of the observatory, her gaze fixated on the city before her. She wasn't wearing a hat, nor a proper coat, which struck Klaus as rather odd. The pink, thin sweater she wore surely was doing nothing to combat the chill of the snow. Her hair was coated with specks of white.

She didn't seem to notice the cold, or, if she did, she didn't seem to care. She did nothing to try to warm herself or keep the frost from her hair.

Teenage girls were always Klaus's easiest targets. A charming smile, a witty remark, and he'd have their blood drained in minutes. Under normal circumstances, this would have been the perfect trap.

_"Aren't you cold," he would have asked. "Would like my jacket? I know where we can get hot chocolate down the street."_

Peculiarly, this wouldn't seem to work on this girl.

Her eyes were trained on the buildings before her, but it appeared to Klaus as if she wasn't actually seeing anything.

He approached her, figuring that he'd work out a plan somehow.

"Pondering the meaning of life?"

It was a long moment before she turned her head toward him, and he realized that it was more because she had sensed his presence and not that she had heard him.

Her eyes, now trained on his, gave him pause, and felt himself stumble. They gave away an emptiness, a loneliness a hopelessness that Klaus knew personally. He saw it every time he looked in the mirror. It was an expression he kept private. A weakness he let no one else in on.

_"We are both empty," he thought. Empty. Empty. _

Slowly, her face began to transform into a semblance of normality, a skill she had learned to master in the presence of people.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" she asked politely.

She was smiling now, a grin that Klaus noticed didn't reach her eyes. It was a tired smile. A wearisome smile, and Klaus had a vague impression that it was a smile she feigned a thousand times in any given day.

She was looking directly at him now, and he realized that she was waiting for an answer. She wanted to know why this strange man was talking to her. She wanted to get over whatever small talk he had planned so that she could drop the very burdening act of pretending to smile.

_Stop. Stop pretending. _

It was a thought that came to Klaus' mind, and, oddly, it seemed to scream at him.

_You're human. You only have so many years to smile. You can't pretend. There's no time. _

He was surprised at the potency of these thoughts.

He had lived for hundreds of years, and he was still looking for happiness.

It had evaded him, and he knew that it would most likely continue to be out of his reach. There was a small hope that clung to him, though. He had hundreds and hundreds of more years to chase it.

This girl? Who knew how many years she had left.

She would die someday. That day could be today-he could drain every ounce of her blood tonight, and she could die without ever having to deal with what was bothering her.

Or that day could be in the late future. After she learned how to smile without any hidden oppression.

If he couldn't find this happiness, then she could find it for the both of them. She could live the rest of her human life ignorant of the pain and burden he faced each and every day.

"What's your name?" His voice was hoarse, barely a whisper, but urgent.

He worried that she would not tell a stranger her name, but the urgency in his voice must have been sensed, because she replied.

"Caroline. Why-"

_Do it. _

_She has a chance_

Quickly, without any warning, Klaus placed both his hands on either of Caroline's shoulders. The pink sweater was wet from the snow. He could hear her heart beat quicken, could see her eyes widen in fear, and her mouth open in shock. Before she could scream, he focused his eyes on hers.

"You're going to forget everything that makes you sad. You're going to leave behind all the loneliness and hurt you feel tonight, and you're going to live the rest of your life surrounding yourself with only people that make you happy and doing only things that bring you joy."

He could feel her eyes on his back as he walked away, and for years afterward, he would wonder how they looked when she was happy.


End file.
